Week #23

• Lettuce is back – Aren’t you lucky, both slugs and cucumber beetles love lettuce too.
• Radishes
• Red cabbage or Romanesco or broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Spaghetti squash (hurray for winter squash) – you can roast this squash by cutting it in half and placing it cut side down on a baking sheet for about 40 – 50 minutes at 350. Then you scrape out the meat and use it like spaghetti. We suggest a rich sauce of tomatoes and leeks follow this link:
• Leeks
• Onions
• Garlic
• Sweet peppers
• Hot peppers
• Basil (may be the last week!)
• Green and purple beans
• Cucumbers or zucchini – What?!! They have taken the plunge; powdery mildew has hit them hard. Enjoy them while you can
• Parsley

The canning party was a big success, due in a large part to Mary Kay! She really out did herself this year with new printed recipes, a huge all inclusive marketing list and a summary of what veggies we would need to harvest. I went to Freddy’s three times (including  a last minute trip at 10:20 the night before the party) and managed to have almost every item before the party started. Matthew had to take a quick trip to Winco at the end of the party to get some more jars, but what would the canning party be if he didn’t have to run out to get something?

We had 15 families represented. We started at about 9:30 and finished by 5:00! We made 14 different recipes:

• Onion jam
• Tomato ketchup
• Indian spiced Chutney
• Shallot Marmelade
• Plum apple chutney
• Pickled jalapenos
• Pickled beets
• Dilly beans
• Belizean Habanero hot sauce
• Chipotle Salsa
• Zucchini marmalade
• Jardiniere
• Chinese plum sauce
• Chipotle adobe

Each participant family got to take home 21 jars of canned goods to fill their pantry. Many people caught the canning bug. Kelly said, “I had no idea what I was getting into, I thought we were just going to cut some peaches in half and stuff some jars with beans.” Mike said, “I remember canning with my mom stuffed in a hot kitchen, I love this outdoor canning. I am going to get myself and camp stove and do this at home”. Emily started out ecstatic about peeling the lemons and slicing the peels and by the end, after stirring the marmalade for hours she wondered if she could even eat it. Chloe loved the Shallot marmalade so much she wants to make more at home.

Julie and Tracy stuck it out with the Chipotle salsa, two recipes disguised as one. Ben and friend stuffed jars of beans and got stuck canning Emily’s marmalade. Yadira with the help of Kelly sliced and then stuffed jars with veggies for the Jardiniere. Dee and Dan arrived a tiny bit late and “got stuck with the pickled peppers!” Karren slaved over the plum and apple chutney, it took all day but is so worth it. Ivy and Lillian made over 40 jars of ketchup. Shauna finely got a good burner and was able to finish the Chinese plum sauce. Matthew, Katherine and daughter Stella made the pickled beets, Chloe was relieved to hand off this job (she did it two years in a row!).  Caylor joined us from PACSAC to see what this canning event was all about. Everyone pitched in helping others process their recipe. Think about joining us next year for the fun!

Many of you may wonder how to eat chutney or pickled peppers. Put out chutney as a condiment when you roast pork or a leg of lamb. Use it as a topper on crackers and cream cheese. The pickled peppers add zing to taco night. Put out your pickled delicacies for an appetizer before Thanksgiving feast.

Here is the link to the paleo pinwheels I made for the potluck: http://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/fig-pinwheels/ I cut the salt in 1/2 and don’t add the maple syrup, it is up to you.

With the canning party finished and most of the farm back in order we can focus on the last 6 weeks of harvest. We have a large crew showing up today to pull weeds, harvest the winter squash and put the farm in ship shape. Juve is working hard as always to get the greenhouses cleaned and ready to plant for late fall and winter. Oh, did you notice the greenhouse in back of the barn – the wind ripped the plastic clear off. Hopefully we will have a calm day so that we can get the new plastic up before it rains and or before the goats realize they can jump into the greenhouse and eat all our precious peppers. As if we didn’t have enough to do.

T-shirts are here! Dee packaged them up nicely and put together all the pre-orders. Find yours in the barn. We have lots of extras, the cost is $18. Please make your check to Diane Jacobs. Get yours today while supplies last.

Mark your calendars for the Harvest Festival, October 19^th. Get ready to have a great time and enjoy the bounty of the season.

We had Allison bring us samples of Sockeye salmon caught in Homer Alaska. They are a Community Supported Fishery (CSF) offering a “CSA – type” approach to purchasing salmon and will deliver to your home. Please visit their website at www.kenairedfc.com or take a card in the barn. They will be sampling again at the Harvest Festival.

Weekly Recipes

While there is a lot to be said for a sauce of slow-cooked onions, there is one major disadvantage: it’s slow. Fresher, greener and milder than onions, leeks cook down and become tender quickly enough to make a distinctive, delicious sauce for spaghetti in little more time than it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Pasta With Leeks and Parsley

Yield 4 servings

Time 30 minutes

Reserve a little of the pasta cooking liquid in case the sauce is too dry. That plus a handful of parsley completes the dish.

Ingredients

• 3 big or 4 medium leeks (at least a pound, total)
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 2 or 3 dried red chilies
• 1/2 red bell pepper or 1 tomato, minced
• 1 pound spaghetti, linguine or other long pasta
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Method

• 1. Trim root end of leeks, then cut off hard green leaves, leaving a bit of green where they meet the white part. Split leeks down the middle, then chop them, not too finely. Wash very well, and spin or shake dry. Set a large pot of water to boil, and salt it.
• 2. Put half the butter or oil in a large skillet, and turn heat to medium-high. A minute later add garlic and chilies, and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic browns; remove chilies (and garlic if you prefer). Add leeks, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they wilt, about 10 minutes. Add pepper or tomato, and lower heat; continue to cook, stirring once in a while, until leeks begin to brown.
• 3. Cook pasta until tender but not mushy. When it\’s done, drain it, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Toss pasta and leeks together with remaining butter or oil, a few sprinklings of black pepper and all but a little of the parsley, adding a bit of cooking liquid if mixture seems dry. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish with remaining parsley, and serve.

Source: The New York Times

Tomato and Leek Sauce over Spaggheti Squash, follow the link as they won’t let me copy the recipe: http://fountainavenuekitchen.com/summer-tomato-and-leek-sauce/

Sausage-Leek Soup
serves 6

1/2 pound smoked sausage
1/4 olive oil or butter
3 cups cleaned, chopped leeks
3 tablespoons chopped herbal celery or parsley
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup milk or half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
S & P to taste

Slice or cut the sausage into thin slices. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the sausage, heat and stir for 3-4 minutes add the chopped leeks, heat and stir for 5 minutes. Add the celery/parsley, stir add the chicken broth bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender or in a food processor. Return to the pot and place over a low flame; stir in milk and gradually stir in the grated cheese. Season to taste with S & P and serve hot.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND ROASTED RED PEPPER LINGUINE
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds onions, halved, thinly sliced
1 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained, cut into thin strips
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds

12 ounces linguine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Melt 1 tablespoon butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add peppers. Sauté 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, vinegar, and fennel seeds. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce reduces slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Return to pot. Add sauce and toss to coat. Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

POTATO, LEEK AND FENNEL SOUP
The fennel is the special flavor in this soup.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and fennel and saute until leeks are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add broth and potatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer soup until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return to same pot. Rewarm soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with reserved fennel fronds and serve. Serves 8. Bon Apetit

LEEKS WITH SHALLOT CAPER VINAIGRETTE

Trim leeks to about 5 inches and trim root ends, leaving them intact. Cut each leek in half lengthwise and wash well, discarding any tough outer leaves. In a skillet just large enough to hold them in one layer arrange leek halves, cut sides down, and add enough water to reach halfway up sides of leeks. Simmer leeks, covered, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes, and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice and cold water. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, shallot, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste and add oil in a stream, whisking. Whisk vinaigrette until emulsified and whisk in capers and parsley. Transfer leeks to paper towels. Pat and gently squeeze leeks until dry and divide between 2 plates. Spoon vinaigrette over each serving. Gourmet